People who fled South Sudan's war and are currently surviving on water lilies and swamp fish might entirely run out of food sources starting January. The people said that they were "dependent on water lilies and fish from local rivers and swamps." Unfortunately, with the water receding from January to March next year, these households are in "real risk of having no food at all by early next year."
Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) team experts told Reuters late last week that there is a high probability of a widespread catastrophe in the first quarter of 2016.
The team made the conclusion after paying a visit to South Sudan's Unity State. The team spent four days in Unity State from Nov. 10. Unfortunately, the team was not able to verify any existing famine conditions "due to the security situation restricting access to people and villages."
They said that around "40,000 people there were projected to be in a food security 'catastrophe' and at risk of famine." The said number is a result of a 10,000 increase from the report in October 22. The October report also said there were 830,000 people in an "emergency" situation while 3.1 million were in "crisis".
To add to that report, the U.S.-funded Famine Early Warning Systems Network further reported that around half the population would be experiencing food insecurity by May of next year, with Upper Nile State in particular need of food aid.
The IPC is composed of individuals from nongovernmental organizations and U.N. agencies such as the Food and Agriculture Organization and World Food Programme.
It can be recalled that South Sudan plummeted into a civil war in December 2013 brought about by a "political crisis triggered fighting between forces loyal to President Salva Kiir and rebels allied with his former deputy Riek Machar."
